The present invention is an improvement in a drive for vehicles, in particular passenger automobiles, of the type where a flywheel is connected between the engine and drive shaft by a pair of selectively actuatable clutches.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,208 discloses a vehicle drive in which the flywheel, normally present for absorbing non-uniformities of engine output torque, may be selectively disconnected from the engine using a clutch arranged between the engine and flywheel. The flywheel is disconnected from the engine, for example, during overrun, i.e. deceleration, operating conditions of the vehicle, and may also be disconnected from the engine drive wheels by a second clutch, for example during idling. Once disconnected, the engine may be stopped to conserve fuel. While the engine is stopped, the flywheel, which continues to rotate, acts to store kinetic energy. Upon termination of the overrun operating state or idling, when it is desirable to restart the engine, the engine and flywheel are reconnected, and the stored kinetic energy in the flywheel is utilized to re-start the engine.